Laughter Lines
by BeverlyQueen
Summary: Set in the future, two members of the teams return from a mission and are greeted at the airport by their families. Future Fic (about 6 years) FitzSimmons, SkyeWard R& R


The airstrip was mostly devoid of personnel, only some standing around waiting for the last plane to arrive back. Most were SHIELD air personnel waiting to direct the plane to land, but 5 silhouettes stood waiting for the returning plane.

Two stood a little further away from the rest, their silhouettes highlighted by the setting of the sun behind them. A man and a woman, both stances showing their lives as soldiers, heads high, shoulders apart, backs straight. Both stood in suits, glasses covering their eyes and binders under their arms. Near to them stood a younger woman holding the hand of a toddler, who was becoming increasingly more and more impatient as time wore on. The young woman was dressed in a pink dress and cardigan while the toddler was decked out in jeans and a batman hoodie.

The last was another young woman, this one holding something, a bundle in a pink blanket close to her chest. She was dressed smartly in a blue blouse and jeans holding a little baby in a pink onesie.

The sound of a plane approaching made all of them look up and smile as the plane touched down on the runway. The plane slowed to a stop in front of them, the hanger door opened and admitted two forms in camouflage uniforms their smiles shown by the setting sun. The toddler broke free of his mother's grasp and ran towards the tall of the two forms.

"DADDY" yelled the young boy running fast to reach the two men, grinning with childish glee as the taller form bent down to embrace his son.

Agent Grant Ward bent down and hugged his son close. Picking him up, he let out a rare grin as he positioned him in his arms. "Hey Buddy"

"Daddy's back" said the boy smiling

The other form smiled as he ruffled the hair of the toddler "Heya Michael, did you take care of the girls for us?"

Michael smiled at the other man, he nodded "Yes, Uncl Leo, but Mommy and Jems missed you both" he hugged his father around the neck

Ward looked over his son's head, and nodded to the group of people walking towards the "I think there's someone you need to meet Fitz, it's been a very long 8 months"

Agent Leo Fitz looked over to the group approaching him, and sought out the one person he wanted to see. A wide grin broke over his face as he spotted his partner walking towards them holding the pale pink blanket. She half walked-ran up to them supporting the same grin that he had on his face. As she reached him, he swept her up in a huge hug careful not to squish the little form in her arms.

Leaning back from the hug slightly he bent down and kissed her quickly "Hello"

"Hello stranger" said Jemma Fits-Simmons smiling at her husband.

Fitz looked down at the tiny bundle in her arms "And who's this lovely little lady?"

Jemma grinned "Well I think it's finally time for you meet you daughter, properly" she handed the bundle over to him. "Meet Elizabeth-May Fitz-Simmons" She gently ran her hand over the top of the bundles head.

Fitz stared down at the little bundle in his arms. Elizabeth who had awoken when she'd changed arms stared straight back, assessing the man that was staring down at her, with the same blue eyes as his. Jemma smirked at the two assessing each other like someone would asses a new species or scientific problem. Fitz was holding his daughter like he'd hold a weapon or a piece of his technology and while it was hilarious for her to watch; she took pity on him and repositioned their daughter in his arms.

As Jemma stopped fussing over the baby in his arms Fitz bent down and kissed her. This kiss lasted for a few minutes and Jemma felt light headed when he pulled back "That was a proper hello" said Fitz smiling

"Fitz" came Ward's voice behind them "don't hog Simmons all to yourself, I want to say hello"

Simmons giggled and moved to hug Ward as Fitz moved to hug Skye. Ward and Simmons had an odd brother-sister relationship over the years and though it confused everybody it worked for them.

Over the years Ward had softened slightly, it had been over 6 years since they'd all met on the BUS that day for their first mission together. Having a child with Skye helped, even if Michael was unexpected and an accident, but fatherhood had changed him from the robot that he'd been when he first stepped on the plane. He still had a long way to go but he was getting there.

Michael was a bundle of energy for a 3 year old. And he looked like the splitting image of his father, looking nothing like his mother with dark brown eyes and almost black hair. He was unexpected for both parents after a rather interesting night involving pollen that they'd found on a mission, which Simmons had found out the side effects a couple of hours too late. He was defiantly the light of his father's life, as cheesy as it sounded.

Ward and Skye still weren't married yet, but the shiny engagement ring on Skye's left hand, was hope for them finally being married after 4 years.

Fitz and Simmons had a shorter love story but more complicated. Fitz had finally admitted his love for Simmons after she'd broken off with her boyfriend, and she'd taken it as just a friendship meaning. Fitz thinking that she didn't return the feelings had asked for a reassignment, and was transferred back to Scotland to work in the SHIELD headquarters there. Simmons after coming back from a week leave was upset to find out that Fitz had be reassigned without her, with Coulson leaving out the fact that Fitz had asked for the reassignment and Simmons in turn had asked for the same assignment, becoming more upset when the act was denied and she was ordered to stay on the BUS. After two weeks of Simmons moping around the plane she had asked for another reassignment back to England, this one granted.

4 months would pass till they both saw each other again. Finally Simmons's brother got in contact with her S.O at S.H.I.E.L.D asking who the hell Fitz was and why his sister was moping about him constantly. They in turn got in touch with Coulson who contacted Fitz in Scotland organising him to come back on the BUS for a consultant job. They picked him up from Glasgow the following week and then headed to pick up Simmons from Bristol. Coulson with much help from Skye managed to get them locked in the Lab together for 4 hours only to find out that they'd ignored each other for the whole duration of the time.

Finally after May threatened to cuff them together for the foreseeable future and lock them in a closet did the two scientists talk and figure out what had happened between them.

From there, their usual relationship of siblingness continued before Ward surprising told Fitz to man up and ask her out. He did and was surprised for her to say yes. 2 years later the rings on their fingers and Elizabeth-May solidified their growing love for each other.

"Where's this little girl that I've heard so much about?" asked Ward releasing Simmons and moving over to Fitz, peaking at the little face in the blankets. "She's adorable"

Fitz turned to the two remaining people that waited for a greeting. Agents May and Coulson stood further away from the reuniting families, smiles on their faces. May walked up to Fitz and gently kissed him on the cheek, "Welcome home"

"Agent May" Fitz smiled, he turned to the other man "Agent Coulson"

"Nice haircut"

Fitz blushed and ran his hand through his short cropped hair. "Thanks"

Two more forms emerged from the plane walked down the ramp. Director Nick Fury and Agent Maria Hill stepped down the latter supporting the same uniform as Fitz and Ward. All agents stood to attention, Ward looking slightly silly with a baby in his arms and a toddler hugging his leg.

"At ease" Director Fury nodded to his agents "thanks to you lot, the Asgards now have a proper communication between our world and theirs"

Hill, Ward and Fitz all nodded. They'd been for the last 8 months stationed on Asgard with Tony Stark and with Bruce Banner and another team of scientists on Earth relaying information to set up a communications grid between the two worlds. Ward and Hill had been stationed to learn fighting styles and battle tactics while Fitz and Stark had worked on communications.

But 8 months meant that Fitz missed the birth of his daughter and that Ward missed his sons 3rd birthday.

They had, for the most part communications between the worlds for the families. But the slight communications were usually reserved for contacting HQ and reports, though most of the SHIELD personnel on Asgard were impressed that Banner had been able to write to Fitz that his daughter had been born in a report mixed in with technology and orders from HQ. It made for some pretty interesting reading.

Fury surveyed his agents in front of him. While Maria looked the same, and had since the battle of New York just over 6 years the other Agents had changed and grown. Agent Ward was a surprise to everyone that he could get a girl to like him, let alone love him and have his child. He had grown from the man who's social skills were summed up by a very crude drawing of a porcupine and constantly being told to smile by the woman who now stood next to him as his fiancee. Skye too had matured from the 21 year old that had hacked into SHIELD for the Rising Tide. She'd also dramatically improved her skills in hacking and he was sure no fire wall could stop her now.

Agents Fitz and Simmons had become even more inseparable then they were before, if that even possible. And even he could admit that their kid was pretty darn cute. He, in private laughed at Dr Banners paragraph in the report that said something about needing some technology and computers and oh yeah Leo Fitz is the proud father of a baby girl called Elizabeth-May born 15th October 2019 and also we need some champagne and wine.

Both scientists had changed from the scare not-ready-for-field-work, to the touch-them-and-you-might-get-a-broken-hand. Agent May and Romanoff had personally taken Simmons under their wings to train her and from the training that Fitz received from Ward and Barton he would bet that he was almost as good shot as them. Now both of them were on the reserve list for now, probably indefinitely as they now were the proud parents of a baby girl who he'd bet was already smarter than the average child her age.

Agent Melinda May was actually supporting a smile for one of the first times in the time he'd known her. She hadn't changed much from the Ninja that she was but as she had gotten older the tended to spend time with emotions and seeing her with the FitzSimmons child was beautiful. She seemed happier and with the ability not to have her own children, he guessed that she was living motherhood through a child that was partly named after her.

And his right hand agent had changed the most.

Agent Phil Coulson, over 30 years in service and he was surprised that the man was still alive. The amount of enemies that man had made would make a normal man run and hide. But Phil was no ordinary man, he had trained 7 of the best SHIELD agents they had.

Barton, Romanoff, May, Ward, Skye, Fitz, Simmons.

They'd all been nurtured by the man standing before them. They were his children and he was their father. Fury felt like a proud grandfather as he stared down at the strange family that had developed in front of him. Coulson was the father who sort of let them get away with stuff, but knew when to be serious and when to play, May the awesome kickass stepmum, Ward the older brother that no one likes very much but will always save your butt if needed. Skye his girlfriend that no one was sure of when they started but now everyones in love with her. FitzSimmons the two twins that everyone loved and pretty much kill anyone that tried to harm them.

Looking down at his agents, he smiled.

"Dismissed, you earned it"

They smiled at him and turned to walk away. Fury turned to the woman who still stood faithfully at his side.

"You too Maria you earned it"

Maria Hill smiled at him and headed over to the little group that stood waited for her. She linked arms with Coulson and smiled as he kissed her gently on the cheek.

They'd done good.

"OH DIRECTOR FURY, WHEN CAN I GO HOME?"

Now if he could just live without this idiot he'd be fine.

"STARK GET BACK IN THE PLANE, NO YOU CAN'T FLY HOME...WHY CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A SUIT WITH YOU...BECAUSE MISS POTTS TOOK IT WAY FROM YOU...WHY, I DON'T KNOW WHY DON'T YOU ASK HER...JUST GET ON THE PLANE"


End file.
